Food Technology in Halal Food Production

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering food technology concepts, processing classifications, and preservation techniques as presented in the lecture notes.

Food Technology

A branch of food science that addresses the production, preservation, quality control, and research and development of food products through the scientific application of knowledge and techniques.

Food Processing

The application of physical, chemical, or biological methods to convert raw materials into safe, edible, and convenient food products.

Primary Food Processing

The basic processing of raw agricultural materials into edible or usable ingredients, such as milling wheat into flour or pasteurizing milk.

Secondary Food Processing

The further processing of primary ingredients into finished or value-added food products, such as making bread from flour or yoghurt from milk.

Chemical Processing

A category of food processing that uses chemical changes, such as chemical preservatives (sodium benzoate, nitrite) or pH controlling (adding vinegar/citric acid), to preserve food.

Biological Processing

A processing category using microorganisms or enzymes, primarily fermentation, to convert sugars into acid, alcohol, or gas.

Physical Processing

The largest industrial category of processing which utilizes heat, cold, drying, radiation, and packaging.

Food Preservation

The process of applying various methods to prevent or delay food spoilage, maintain safety, and extend shelf life during storage and distribution.

Drying

A preservation method that removes water to inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds.

Case Hardening

A condition occurring when too high a temperature is used during drying, causing the outside to become dry while the inside remains moist and vulnerable to spoiling.

Freeze Drying (Lyophilisation)

A process where food is first frozen and then water is removed by sublimation, where ice changes directly to vapor under vacuum.

Spray Drying

A method where liquid food is atomized into fine droplets inside a hot air chamber to produce dry powder.

Chilling

The process of preserving food by cooling it to temperatures between $4\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ and $7\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ to slow bacterial action.

Freezing

The process of slowing decomposition by turning residual moisture into ice at temperatures generally of $-18\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ or below.

Freezer Burn

A surface freeze-dried area characterized by grainy, brownish spots where tissues become dry and tough due to moisture loss or ice crystal evaporation.

Clostridium botulinum

The main target of heat treatment; a strictly anaerobic, spore-forming, Gram-negative bacterium that produces an extremely lethal neurotoxin.

Low-acid Foods

Foods with a pH $> 4.5$, such as meat and milk, which require sterilization by retort.

High-acid Foods

Foods with a pH $< 3.7$, such as pickles and lemon juice, which can be sterilized by boiling water.

Cold Point Location

The zone of slowest heating in a container where the product temperature increases more slowly than the heating medium temperature.

Canning

A food preservation method where food is sealed in airtight containers and heated to destroy microorganisms and enzymes.

Smoking

A preservation method where food is exposed to smoke from burning wood to reduce moisture and utilize antimicrobial compounds for flavor and shelf life.

Pasteurisation

A mild heat treatment used to reduce harmful microorganisms and spoilage organisms while maintaining better flavor and nutrients than sterilization.

HTST (High Temperature Short Time)

A common pasteurization method typically involving heating at $72\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ for $15\,\text{sec}$.

UHT (Ultra High Temperature)

A pasteurization method involving heating at $135-150\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ for $1-5\,\text{sec}$.

Retort Processing

A method where food is sealed in containers and heated under high temperature ($115-121\,^{\circ}\text{C}$) and pressure to achieve commercial sterility.

Osmoanabiosis

A preservation principle based on making water unavailable to microorganisms by placing food in a sugary or salty solution to reduce $a_w$ (water activity).

Free Water

Water that is available for microorganisms to use for growth.

Bound Water

Water that is attached to sugar, salt, protein, or other components, making it unavailable for microbial use.

Osmosis

The flow of water through a semi-permeable membrane from a lower concentration to a higher concentration.

Plasmolysis

The process where a microbial cell shrinks because it loses water to a high osmotic pressure environment outside the cell.

Sugaring

Increasing osmotic pressure by adding a high amount of sugar to bind water and lower water activity, commonly used for jams and jellies.

Salting

A method that draws water out from food and microbial cells using salt directly (dry salting) or through brine (brine salting).

Pickling

A preservation method where food is kept in an acidic solution (vinegar) or allowed to ferment until acid is produced naturally.